A tale of Light and Glass

Rain and thunder

The raging patter from the plundering rain droplets splashed aggressively against the concrete ground, followed by the rapid pounding of footsteps echoing in the pale moonlight, his breathing sped up, and he ran faster, as fast as his tired legs could carry him, but he never thought of stopping, he flew through the air as he jumped from roof to roof, focusing on cultivating distance between him and his pursuers.

He had a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips, his dark eyes held bits of trouble buried in the pools of brown gold, he was easily outrunning the dozen of soldiers chasing him over the houses of unassuming civilians sleeping soundly at that particular time. The rain had him drenched from head to toe, but he never faltered in being in complete control of how the situation would turn out.

He knew this game all too well, just two more turns, down the chute and they’d be lost, if he could only make it to the spot where he’d have to descend from the rooftop and through the gap in the wall.

“Stop! You degenerate asshole” a deep raspy voice bellowed aggressively for the hundredth time that night, the rage could be heard in his tone, he had had quite enough of the charade that they were trapped in, because no matter how hard they tried, he however knew the streets like the palm of his hand, he had the routes memorized and instinctively knew what would present after every twist and turn. He merely huffed out a laugh and flashed his distinctive devilish gaze in their direction.

“Sorry chief, but the first 50 times didn’t do it, I don’t think even if you tried nicely I’d consider it” his voice was full of rebellion and carried through the wind and rain like butter, with an ever-present cocky tone, outright mocking them, and feeling immensely satisfied with doing so.

The enraged cursing certainly had half the neighbourhood awake by then, the lead soldier trailing behind rather foolishly, desperate to keep up, but his failure was painfully ensured.

Aeros took a sharp turn after he made his way down the rooftops, and expertly slid his body through an opening in a wall, he ran full steam, turned again, then jumped down the trusted chute, he sat expertly still for a few moments to ensure that they weren’t on his trail anymore.

Breathing heavily he gathered himself, the smirk never dissipating from his features, and his eyes glinted with boyish satisfaction.

“Damn I’m too good” he breathed out, climbing out of the confined space, his heavy-clad feet hit the ground, water splashing from the impact, distorting the reflection of the full moon.

He placed his hands into his large coat's pockets and whistled a weighted tune, walking unbothered through the streets of his city.

Aeros descended a floating staircase that led to a stony courtyard and glided through it, his hefty boots echoing through the quiet but rainy night. He smiled a genuine smile when he reached his destination, it was quaintly tucked away for... security purposes.

His work was that of a certain taste that not too many would like to acquire. In fact, those who knew, steered clear, and those who didn’t never looked too deep under the surface. He carried himself in such a way that he always had a polite mischief about him, but mixed into that was an air of danger and confidence. People tended to pick up on it, and made sure not to cross him, but for the most part, he was known to be very integrated with his community, especially when it came to those in need.

He charmed the neighbours, had the streets swoon and buckle when he sunbathed, and he had a cheery disposition following him around, in laments terms, he was respected, loved and desired, but feared when necessity dictated it.

Before him was a large dark door. He sighed, as he knew the hour was late but time was no deterrent for a scolding. He brought his palm up to the door, the sound of a biometric sensor unlocking the door filled the quiet night. He hadn't even stepped into the house successfully when two big hands grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him into the wall beside the door. The only other body present in the room had a look of fury in his eyes, his ferocity prevalent in his steely gaze. Well, his name was Griffin.

Griffin was Aeros’s older brother and business partner. Currently, he was seconds away from strangling his brother when Aeros shifted his demeanor.

”Big brother, there you are, I've missed your angry little face“ he mused, placing his finger onto his brother's nose, making a 'boop' sound.

As was his character, he substituted any semblance of seriousness for humor.

Griffin said nothing, he did however release him from his grasp, but his body coiled into a state of defeat and outrage, he dragged his hands through his dark locks and emitted a low groan from the depths of his soul.

”I thought I f*****g told you not to go, what part of that did you not comprehend?” he inquired with a labored tone of voice.

Aeros stalked past him heading straight for the whiskey, “well my stress-riddled friend, to answer your question with as much honesty as I can manifest, all of it” he gulped down a mouthful of alcohol and proceeded to remove his coat then plopped down on the couch, he stretched his legs out in front of him, avoiding his brothers gaze.

”Great” Griffin threw his hands up in the air in defeat, “what if you got killed? do you even realise how dangerous that was? I waited for you for days Aeros, days!” he was livid, his little brother worked on every one of his nerves, sure Aeros was capable, dangerous, and very resourceful, but he was also cocky and way too arrogant, he got himself into more trouble than it was worth.

”Look, I appreciate the stress you're under, but how can you still not trust me to take care of myself? You know we needed access to the compound, he's still missing, and we knew nothing, I had to do something”

”It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't want you to slip up and get caught, not only would I lose my brother, but it would jeopardise every single thing we have worked for our whole lives, and don’t even get me started on the f*****g s**t I’d get from our dads”.

Aeros left his place on the couch, he walked over to Griffin, and placed a firm hand on his back, the two were about 5 years apart in age, but Aeros towered over his brother, his size was intimidating to everyone but not to Griffin, he was the older sibling, the protector, sadly, he didn't feel he was succeeding so well at that moment.

“I get it okay, but I'm beat, can we pick this up tomorrow? I'll fill you in on the details I gathered then as well, I just can't do it right now“ he didn't even give Griffin the chance to answer, as he sauntered away to his bedroom.

Griffin turned and watched his brother go, his dark head of hair wet from the rain, his broad shoulders heavy and for the first time, the weight that he had carried his whole life was strikingly present, he had let slip his carefree mask and made it obvious that he was heavy, either in his heart or in his head. Griffin just sighed, but didn't push any further, he caught a glimpse of that tired sorrow looming about his brother, normally his evasiveness had more of a light structure, but this time, it was different, he seemed different